


Dolls

by pleasejustpickaname



Series: Dolls [1]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Angst, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:34:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26131216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pleasejustpickaname/pseuds/pleasejustpickaname
Summary: No one had suspected this from the saesang...Things like this didn't happen, yet here they were...The beginning of what would undoubtedly be a weird adjustment in their lives...
Series: Dolls [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1897501
Comments: 5
Kudos: 29





	Dolls

"Hyung, hyung!"  
Hongjoong groaned, opening his eyes only to see Mingi's pale face looking frightened above him.  
"Whassup?" He slurred, sitting up in his half-awake glory.  
"There's someone banging on the door," Mingi whispered. "No one else is awake and I'm scared."  
Hongjoong stopped rubbing his eyes, looking up at the taller. They sat in silence for a few seconds, and Hongjoong heard it.  
His heart jumped in his chest, but he knew he had to stay calm for the younger, so he told Mingi to stay where he was. Heart pounding, he made a detour to the kitchen to grab the cheese knife, unable to find the big knife at the minute. He gripped it defensively, unsure of what was waiting for him.  
To some this may seem extreme, but they would be missing one vital bit of information.  
Not only were all 8 members in the dorm, their managers would never knock on their door at 2 in the morning without sending a text to their group chat beforehand.  
No, Hongjoong knew who this was.  
A sasaeng had been trailing them for days, to the point where the company had assigned extra bodyguards to the members in case she tried something. And now, she had found their dorm, despite everything they had done to try and stop her.  
Hongjoong was gonna have a serious conversation with upper management if he had to use the damn knife.  
Suddenly the knocking stopped, and footsteps could be heard outside the front door. Hongjoong froze, heart pounding. All he heard after that was the tinkling of glass, and his own breathing. Against his best instincts, he opened the door, peering out.  
A box sat outside their door, rather innocuous, and the window at the end of the hallway to their shared apartment was broken. Clearly that was the way the sasaeng exited.  
Hongjoong looked down at the box, feeling a twinge of pity in him. He rang management, telling them that the sasaeng had broken in and caused damage to the building, before picking up the box and taking it in.  
He just got her blacklisted after all. Might as well humour her.  
As he put the box on the table, San wandered into the room, Mingi clinging onto his side like a limpet.  
"She's gone," Hongjoong said, knowing they knew who they were on about, "I got her blacklisted, so I figured I'd bring this in since she isn't getting near us again."  
San nodded in understanding, yawning as Hongjoong opened the box in curiosity.  
Inside the box (which had air holes poked in the bottom) lay 8 dolls, beautifully crafted in a chibi style. They all had their looks from the Answer era, and the leader picked up his own doll gently.  
It was quite cute, he had to admit, but he didn't see why they required being broken into. Then again, he thought to himself, saesangs would do anything to see them. He showed the doll to San and Mingi, who were curious.  
"Awww, they're cute," San cooed, digging in the box to find his own. "They're really pretty!"  
"Just wish they didn't break in for it," Mingi murmured, picking up his own doll, recognisable by the fiery hair. "I was really scared."  
"I know," Hongjoong put all the dolls on the table, sitting them down carefully. "But let's all go back to bed, it's our day off today so let's rest well."  
****  
San grumbled as he awoke to a poke in the stomach, and he turned away. He felt another and he opened his eyes grumpily, only to find no one else in the room.  
"Weird," he murmured to himself. He felt a little warmth caress his back, and he shivered, clambering down the ladder to head to the kitchen.  
As he entered, he saw Wooyoung gently holding and playing with the San doll. He smiled, going up to hug the younger.  
Wooyoung shrieked, not realising he was there and dropping the doll, who fell face first on the floor. San suddenly felt winded, struggling to breathe.  
"What's wrong? San what's wrong?" Wooyoung panicked, loud voice bringing Hongjoong into the room. The older man accidentally stood on the dolls leg, causing San to yell in pain.  
Hongjoong looked at the doll, before looking at San on the floor gripping his leg, before taking his foot off the doll and picking it up. The pain in San's limb faded and he looked up at the older, eyes wide with fear.  
"What's happening, hyung?!"  
Hongjoong put the San doll on the table, picking up Wooyoung's and lightly bending the dolls wrist backwards. As the younger man hissed and grabbed his wrist in confusion, Hongjoong repeated it with San's doll and his own. His heart sank.  
To confirm it, he picked up Seonghwa's doll and pinched the back of its neck, and a loud yelp erupted from another room before the eldest come out, hand on his neck.  
"What the fuck was that?!"  
Hongjoong put down the dolls.  
"Hyung, this is going to sound insane, but I think... Whatever happens to these dolls happens to us?"  
Seonghwa looked at Hongjoong with a deadpan expression, before Hongjoong pinches the dolls neck again. His hand flew to the spot subconsciously and he hissed in pain, before his eyes widened in fear.  
San and Wooyoung were clutching each others hands as the hyungs had a non-verbal conversation, feeling fearful and nervous.  
"TEAM MEETING" the leader suddenly yelled, "EVERYONE IN THE LIVING ROOM NOW."  
As the dorm scrambled to gather, San gently picked up his doll, noticing it was a little bit dirty from where Hongjoong had stepped on its leg. He gently wiped it down, feeling his own hands brushing along his shin and shivering, before clutching it gently in his hands, taking it into the living room and curling up next to his roommate.  
Yunho, noticing that San seemed a little worse for wear, gently stroked his arm, taking the doll out of his trembling hands and putting it next to them on the couch. He pushed San's head onto his lap, gently stroking the youngers hair as Hongjoong struggled to say what he had found.  
"Last night someone broke in," he finally said, looking at them, "and they left a box which I took in because, well I got them blacklisted you know? Might as well humour them. And, they had these dolls in them." Hongjoong held up his doll, making the others aware that they each had a doll on the table.  
"Now unfortunately, these dolls are a little weird, I guess is the word? This is, absolutely crazy. I don't know how to say it but I just will, we feel what happens to these dolls. Or at least, 4 8ths of us have."  
"... Is this a joke, hyung?" Yeosang asked, expression deadpan.  
The leader didn't answer, simply pinching the Yeosang dolls neck like he did Seonghwa's. The younger yelped, hand slapping his neck and his eyes widened in horror. Hongjoong repeated this with Mingi, Jongho and Yunho's, each of them staring at the dolls with varying degrees of horror.  
"Yeah," Hongjoong sighed. "So where do we go from here?"  
"Well, we have to look after them!" Wooyoung cried out, "You saw what happened to San this morning! We can't just throw them out..."  
Yunho looked down at the trembling boy in his lap, suddenly realising what must have happened and he gripped his hand tightly.  
"So we take care of them." Hongjoong decided. "Everyone, pick a doll to protect. I'd say take your own, but that would be too easy to forget. We need to remember that whichever doll we pick, they're our friend and we have to make sure it doesn't get hurt."  
"That's going to be a huge adjustment hyung," Jongho worried.  
"Well, we're gonna have to make it work."  
Slowly, each member took a doll.  
Seonghwa was the first, grabbing the Hongjoong doll and looking at it. It was cute, chibi fashion with a tiny grin and white hair. It had on a cute yellow minion t shirt with light blue ripped pants, even with little frayed detailing. None of the dolls had shoes, the eldest noticed, but the Hongjoong doll had tiny white socks on. He held it gently, well aware of what it was.  
Hongjoong followed, grabbing Jongho's as it was the closest to him. He also examined the Jongho doll, noticing that the doll had black trousers on with black socks. It also had on a little white top, with a cute little apple stitched onto the back of the shirt. It's dark hair was parted in the middle, similar to the styling from Answer era.  
Yunho sighed, picking up Mingi's from the pile. The fiery red hair would be easy for the forgetful taller to remember, he justified, and the obnoxious pink shirt and white pants wouldn't help him forget at all. Mingi's doll had mismatched socks on, one black and one blue, causing Yunho to chuckle.  
Yeosang already knew which doll he would pick, taking Wooyoung's straight out of the pile. He couldn't think of anyone else he would remember the doll was attached to more, with their friendship lasting as long as it had. The Wooyoung doll was wearing a low cut black t shirt, along with black torn pants and black socks.  
San picked up Yunho's doll, holding it ever so gently in his hands as he looked at it. The black hair was parted in a similar way to Jongho's, and the doll was wearing a cute blue shirt with a yellow sunshine on it. It was wearing white pants and socks, and overall looked very cute.  
Mingi picked Seonghwa's doll, stroking the black hair as he did so. Seonghwas doll was wearing a black and white striped jumper, again with black pants and socks. He was still in disbelief over the whole situation, but kept his mouth shut, just holding it as gently as possible.  
Wooyoung picked up San's, still feeling bad about what had happened that morning. He knew exactly what the San doll looked like, with its piechart hair and pastel pink fluffy jumper with white pants and socks. He gently squeezed its hand, watching as San's actual hand closed like he was trying to squeeze back.  
Jongho picked up Yeosang's doll, noticing that this dolls hair was also parted. Yeosang's doll had on a simple white shirt and blue pants, but the shirt had tiny yellow blobs around the bottom of it. The little yellow blobs were, upon further inspection, baby chicks, and repeated on the top of the white socks.  
Hongjoong looked around. "So everyone has a doll?"  
As everyone nodded, he continued. "I cannot stress to you how much we need to take care of these things and find out the limits. The less injuries, the better."  
"Wait, are they, like, voodoo dolls?" Mingi asked.  
"No, voodoo dolls are like for spells and stuff," Hongjoong shook his head, "Thats where the whole pin imagery comes from, these are clearly different but I don't know how they're made. Like I said whatever happens to these, we feel. Oh, sorry for standing on your dolls leg this morning San."  
"Sorry for dropping your doll, San." Wooyoung also said, grabbing his friends hand and swinging it in apology.  
"It's OK."  
"Right, shall we figure this out then?"  
****  
Wooyoung and San were huddled over the San doll, Yunho's carefully placed back down on the desk of drawers so it didn't get hurt.  
"So whatever I do to this you'll feel it?" Wooyoung asked, and San shrugged.  
"I guess."  
"Can it suffocate? If I need to put it in a bag for schedules does it's head need to be out?"  
"Try it."  
Wooyoung slid it under the covers, pressing down around it. They waited for a few seconds, San breathing fine, before his lungs tightened and he started to struggle. Wooyoung quickly pulled the doll out, watching San pant heavily.  
"Well, that answered that."  
San laid down on the bed, whimpering at the phantom pains still present in his leg, and Wooyoung looked at him.  
He thought for a minute, before a mischievous grin split his face. He lifted up the dolls jumper, scratching a finger over the length of its tummy.  
San squealed, hands clutching his stomach and he curled up into a ball. Wooyoung laughed as he continued tickling the doll, watching as San flopped about unable to stop the sensation.  
"Stop it! WOOYOUNG!"  
"Stop what? I'm not touching you San!"  
Wooyoung put the doll down on the bed, curling up next to his giggling friend and hugging him.  
"That's gonna be fun," he smirked as San whined.  
"Suddenly I regret you having my doll."  
"Oh hush," Wooyoung poked San, watching as he rolled away with a squeal. "It'll be fun!"  
"Yeah for you," he groused, "I'm sure I'll be laughing for a whole other reason."  
"Maybe!"  
****  
"Are they safe there?"  
Hongjoong looked up at where he and Mingi had put the Seonghwa and Jongho dolls. They were sat on top of a cabinet, quite high up, and he bit his lip.  
"Maybe put them on the floor? I'm scared they'll fall."  
Mingi obliged, putting the dolls on the studio floor next to their bags.  
"This is, insane."  
"I know, but we're gonna have to live with it Mingi. Like it or not, this is our reality."  
Mingi's phone buzzed, and he opened the message before sighing.  
"Woosan found out the dolls can choke, so when we're transporting them they need to have their heads out."  
"I'll make some bags for them." Hongjoong dismissed, "We need to work."  
"I can't believe we're working when something like this has happened."  
"Hey, the album won't produce itself."  
****  
Yeosang held onto the Wooyoung and Hongjoong dolls while Seonghwa cooked, both of them sitting in an awkward silence as they struggled to comprehend the situation they found themselves in.  
"I don't quite believe I'm not dreaming," Yeosang eventually sighed, putting down Hongjoongs doll and lifting up Wooyoung's. He held it with both hands, gently stroking its arms with his thumbs. "It's just, how can they be connected?"  
"I don't know," Seonghwa sighed, "But as much as I'd rather not mess with them it seems like they can cause some serious pain if we leave them. Poor San was nearly in tears this morning when Hongjoong stepped on his doll."  
Yeosang hissed in sympathy, unable to even imagine the kind of pain that would have inflicted. Especially because the dolls were plush, so it probably would have felt more like crushing his leg than stepping on it. He sighed, putting the Wooyoung doll down and looking at it.  
"Well, at least we don't have to feed them."  
"Oh that would have been a disaster, we can barely feed ourselves!"  
****  
Jongho and Yunho entered the dance studio, dropping their bags in the corner. Yunho gently set down the Mingi doll, draping some clothing over his head.  
"Why are you doing that?"  
"I don't know how the loud music will affect his ears if he's this tiny."  
Jongho paused. "Smart, can we fit Yeosang under there?"  
After a bit of a faff, they managed to cover the two dolls ears without covering their noses and mouths, before they sat down. They knew they should practice, that was why they were here after all, but they were lacking the motivation.  
"Do you think San-hyung is OK?" The maknae asked suddenly, lips downturned. "He didn't look good."  
"He effectively had his leg crushed Jjong, wouldn't be surprised if he's feeling phantom pains." Yunho shuddered. "I can't imagine how that felt."  
Jongho bit his lip, not wanting to imagine but imagination running wild regardless. He leant into Yunho's side, needing the touch to ground him.  
The older man stroked his hair soothingly, allowing himself to take comfort in the youngers reliance on him." We'll be OK Jjongie," he said, "We know what we've got to do."  
"Yes but, this doesn't happen, hyung," the maknae spat out in frustration, "this kind of thing only happens in novels and fanfictions and--"  
"and we'll figure it out," Yunho held his face in his hands, stopping the younger from rambling. "It's not the end of the world, kiddo, OK? No one except us and that sasaeng knows, and we think it's crazy right? If she comes out and says that, what do you think the general public will say? They'll think it's just another sasaeng trying to get our attention and it's all bollocks, that's what they'll think. There's a higher chance of her being put in a psych ward than of the truth coming out. Trust me on this."  
Jongho nodded slowly, "Yeah, you're right hyung... I'm sorry I'm freaking out."  
"It's understandable," Yungo dismissed, "After a little bit I feel like we're going to at least have breakdowns from San and Mingi, if not Joongie-hyung too because of the new variable in our lives. This is an unusual situation, you have every right to be terrified. Just don't let it possess you, OK?"  
Jongho nodded, and Yunho smiled.  
" Right. Let's get dancing."  
****  
San rushed around his room, almost bumping into Yunho as he walked in.  
"Sorry!" He squeaked, hugging him on instinct. "How are you?"  
"Good," the taller chuckled, watching the shorter man dash around. "What are you doing?"  
"You might see in a minute." San was folding up one of Yunho's scarves, and curious, the taller headed over. He felt his heart clench at the sight.  
San had taken an empty cereal box, carefully cutting out pieces to make a sturdy bed for the Yunho doll (minus the legs so that it had less chance of falling). He had glued the pieces together, and was using Yunhos scarf to make a mattress and a folded up (CLEAN) sock to make a pillow. As San looked for one of his handkerchiefs to place over the doll as a blanket, he felt two arms wrap around his waist and a small kiss being placed on the back of his neck. He smiled, putting the handkerchief over the Yunho doll while his own Yunho stubbornly clung onto him like a limpet.  
He dragged the taller into his bed, grabbing Shiber before snuggling up on the bottom bunk with him. Yunho's arms wrapped back around his waist, spooning him in a backhug and San sighed happily. He swore as he drifted off he heard a quiet 'thank you', but he couldn't be sure.  
If Yunho was too warm that night, he wasn't saying a damn thing.  
****  
"Here, let's put them in a little hammock!!"  
Yeosang contemplated what the hell was going on as Wooyoung enthusiastically created a little doll hammock off the edge of their bunk beds. He placed the two dolls in, making sure their faces wouldn't get trapped should something go wrong, and stepped back to admire his work.  
The scarf was a baby pink, similar to San's jumper, and soft enough that the dolls laying on it probably wouldn't cause any discomfort. Woo had squooshed the two of them together, stating that Woosan couldn't be separated even in doll form, before he flopped back down next to Yeosang, jabbering on about how he could bully San with these dolls.  
Yeosang just chuckled tiredly, only half listening to Wooyoung's evil tickling plans as he let himself relax in the familiar atmosphere.  
He had become so tense ever since this was brought up that he forgot what a careless atmosphere was like. He let it lull him off to sleep, not seeing the fond grin Wooyoung shot at him, nor hearing the shutter sound of his phone camera.  
****  
Jongho and Mingi were debating where to put their dolls. The Seonghwa and Yeosang dolls seemed to eye them up, as if daring them to put them somewhere like the sock drawer.  
So of course, Jongho volunteered it.  
"NO!" Mingi exclaimed, shocked. "They're our friends! Would you put Seonghwa-hyung and Yeosangie in a sock drawer? No, of course you wouldn't."  
"Well, maybe if I had the chance," Jongho muttered under his breath, smiling sweetly at the older when he looked at him with a look of utter shock.  
"Ok, let's just fold up one of your blankets, stick it on the floor and put them in it?"  
They managed to half tuck the dolls into the blanket, facing away from the bed with a book to prevent them "looking back, they're possessed anyway!" (Jongho had given Mingi the world's most deadpan stare when he said that. Despite that, he went along with the plan, so Mingi wouldn't get freaked out.)  
As Jongho was brushing his teeth, Mingi came up behind him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. As the maknae threw himself away from the unwanted affection, Mingi pouted.  
"Come onnnn!" He whined, "Let me love you!! What if the dolls stab me during the night and the last thing you did was avoid my love?"  
"Oh yeah because that's a scenario?" Jongho wielded his saliva and toothpaste covered brush like a weapon, pointing it at Mingi. "Stay back, heathen!"  
"Heathen?" The taller repeated incredulously, "HEATHEN? Oh come here, you little shit-!"  
****  
As the sound of Mingi and Jongho's playful bickering could be heard down the hallway, Seonghwa smiled fondly.  
"Everything's back to normal, I hear."  
Hongjoong barely looked up from where he was putting the Jongho and Hongjoong dolls on pillows, humming in agreement as he made sure the pillows were stable on the table.  
Seonghwa frowned, heading over to him. "You alright?"  
The leader bit his lip, before looking up at him.  
"This is just, so fucked up."  
The older's heart sank as tears began to well up in the leaders eyes, and he quickly pulled him into a hug, walking them to the bed and just sitting on it.  
"How am I supposed to take care of all of you when shit like this happens?" The smaller sobbed into his shirt, "If people can make this stuff, they can hurt any of you, and I can't stop it or help you!"  
Seonghwa found himself speechless, the validity of his concerns causing doubts to well in his own mind too. He disregarded them for now though, focusing on his distressed dongsaeng.  
"Listen," he said firmly, "as much as you may want to, there are things you can't control, and that's OK. I'm sure we'll be fine, this has never happened before, and it's very likely it will never happen again. All we can do is take care of ourselves and our dolls, and if something else happens, we'll deal with it when it comes to it, OK?"  
Hongjoong nodded his assent, though he was still crying with stress and fear and all the emotions that had pent up inside him during the day. The elder male didn't stop holding him, simply lying down and dragging the smaller with him. He threaded his fingers through the blue hair, and as the leader cried himself to sleep, he found himself examining the dolls on the floor.  
Everything would be fine, he said to himself.  
It had to be.


End file.
